Basque rural sports
Basque rural sports, known as Deportes Rurales in Spanish or Herri Kirolak in Basque, is the term used for a number of sports competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyles of the Basque people. The term force basque is used in French.
Virtually all regional Basque rural sports have their origin in the two main historical occupations, the baserritarra and arrantzalea, with a larger percentage hailing from the rural background. The sociological changes in the Basque Country have led many of these becoming technically obsolete in the 19th and 20th century. Few continue to exist as rural or marine activities connected to everyday life and have become rare but many have managed to transform themselves into popular sports instead, some of which have become extremely popular.
Winners receive a Basque beret as a trophy, hence the Basque word for "champion" - txapeldun, literally "one who has a beret".
Betting, both by the competitors and the audience, is very common and popular at such sporting events in the north of Spain.
The H18K rural sports
In 2006, the Basque Government identified 18 particular rural sports, called H18K, in its Strategic Plan for promotion. These 18 categories are :Aizkora proba (wood chopping)
Literally "axe test", this rural sport more commonly known as aizkolaritza, from the Basque word for a wood-cutter. This is a very popular sport today but its origins are to be found in the rural wood cutting and charcoal burning communities of earlier periods.In this competition, the wood cutter has to chop through a number of tree trunks arranged on the ground in rows as quickly as possible while standing on the log to beat his competitors.
This sport is often seen in summer at local festivities and open-air dances, held in towns all over the country.
Giza-abere probak (dragging games)
This sport translates as Human-animal tests and is a collective term for a number of sports in which humans and animals are involved in dragging heavy weights. There are four main categories:- Giza probak where people attempt to drag a heavy weight, usually a large rock, across a certain distance
- Zaldi probak - same as giza probak but with horses
- Idi probak - same as giza probak but with oxen
- Asto probak - same as giza probak but with donkeys
Harri jasotzea (stone lifting)
The lifting of stones is one of the most widely known Basque rural sport outside the Basque Country, largely thanks to the prowess of Iñaki Perurena, a harrijasotzaile from Leitza, in Navarre, the first on record to lift stone over.There are usually two stone-lifters competing in each event, taking turns in one or several attempts, to perform the greatest possible number of lifts. A lift is considered complete when the stone has been properly balanced on the shoulder.
The four types of stone most frequently used are rectangular, cylindrical, spherical and square and were established at the beginning of the 20th century. The stones are traditionally made of granite, their weight normally ranging from.
Together with aizkolaritza, stone lifting is another example a widely performed rural sport at local festivities all over the Basque Country.
Harri zulaketa (hole drilling)
The hole drilling competition involves having to grind holes into a rock. Teams of three compete against each other. They take turns in using a long metal pole to punch and drill a hole into a large rock upon which they are standing, pouring water onto the working area while the third person gets to rest.This tradition goes back to the quarrying activities around the Basque Country, in particular in Biscay. In Spanish it is called barrenadores "drillers" and occasionally barrenatzaileak in Basque as well.
Ingude altxatzea (anvil lifting)
The lifting of anvils requires competitors to lift an iron anvil or ingude weighing, above the height of their own head, as many times as possible in a set time period. The anvil has the shape of an obtuse triangle with a stump at one point or an elongated T and is traditionally used in shoeing horses. Champions manage some 80 lifts in 2 minutes.In Spanish this is called alzamiento de yunque and in French lever d'enclume.
Lasto altxatzea (bale lifting)
Literally hay bale lifting, this sport involves raising a hay-bale with the aid of a pulley.The competition is usually about lifting the bale as often as possible within a given period of time, most commonly 2 minutes. The bale weighs in the men's competitions and in the women's competition.
The most difficult part is to get the bale to the required height for the first time. Once that has been achieved, the competitors allow the bale to drop in free fall, grabbing the rope and jumping up at the appropriate moment to use their own body weight to lift the bale again when coming down. A lot of skill is needed to avoid rope burn. The visual appearance is not dissimilar to swinging on a church bell rope.
In Spanish this is called levantamiento de fardo and in French lever de paille.
Lasto botatzea (bale tossing)
Hay bale tossing is related to lasto altxatzea. Here the hay-bales have to be thrown over a bar set a certain height with the help of a pitchfork. For men the height is normally and for women, the bale has to hit a bell for the toss to be valid.This sport is very similar to the Scottish sheaf toss. In Spanish this is called lanzamiento de fardo.
Lokotx biltzea (cob gathering)
In cob gathering competitions, also called buskail biltzea, cobs are placed at distances in a line, 25 in a line at the most. The game can be played to 50, 75, or 100 cobs in which case they are placed in sets of 2, 3, or 4. The competitors have to collect these in order and place them into a basket at one end of the row of cobs.It is called recogida de mazorcas in Spanish and course des épis de maïs in French.
Ontzi eramatea (churn carrying)
The churn carrying competition usually involves milk-cans and is very similar to the #Txinga eramatea competition. Competitors have to carry a milk-churn in each hand as far as possible. This game is also called esneketariak "milk carrying" or ontziketariak "can carrying".Orga jokoa (cart game)
The "oxcart game" is a display of strength. Contestants have to lift the back of an ox cart, usually weighing around, and the end usually at around above the ground. The cart is pivoted to the ground at the front end and competitors must rotate it, trying to go around as many times as possible in a sideways motion.It is also called andartza in Basque. In Spanish this is called levantamiento de carro and in French lever de charette.
It was the inspiration behind the creation of Strongman event 'Basque Circle' as seen in 1989 World's Strongest Man competition, as well as the Conan's wheel event which is a slight modification, where the athletes walk a frontward motion around the circle rather than sideways.
Sega jokoa (scything)
Literally "scythe game", this sport is also known as segalariak, sega proba, sega apustua or segalaritza. The earliest record of this sport comes from a bertso dating back to 1880 about a competition in Iturriotz.In this sport competitors either compete to cut the most grass in a given period of time or they are each given plots of grass of the same size and the competition is to see who can scythe theirs the fastest. Today the competition usually lasts one hour but two-hour competitions also are still held. At the end, the grass is raked, weighed and baled to establish the winner. Traditionally, as with most Basque sports, the competitors would make a profit by betting but monetary prizes have been put up since the 1950s.
There are few actual records in this sport as it very much depends on the terrain and is thus difficult to compare. But a number of segalari have achieved fame nonetheless, for example the legendary Pedro Maria Otaño Ezeitza, commonly known as Santa Ageda from Beizama who was also an aizkolari and competed up until 1915. Another famed event was the competition of 1925 in Iturriotz when, before a crowd of 6,000, Pedro Mendizabal from Aia and Jose Arrieta from Urnieta battled each other. Legend has it that more than 150,000 pesetas in bets were placed. Mendizabal won, cutting of grass in two hours against his rival's.
The use of scythes is still widespread today as many pastures are too steep for modern farm machinery so scythes are used to cut grass or bracken. Working scythes have blades between in length, but competition scythes range from in length. A decent segalari can manage some 2 in a day.
In Spanish this is simply called siega.
Sokatira (tug-of-war)
is also traditional in the Basque Country. Usually two teams of eight compete, trying to drag the other team over a line by pulling on the rope.There are free competitions in which the weight of the competitors is ignored and more structured events where there are weight categories of,,, and per team. Juvenile teams are always under. Three lines are marked on the ground, a middle line and parallel to that at distance two more. The maximum length of the rope is with a circumference between. There are 5 markers on the rope, a red marker in the middle, away from the red marker on either side are white markers and on either side of those are blue markers. The aim is for a team to get the opposing team's blue marker over the team's own line. Hands must always be on the rope and it may not be supported with any other part of the body or allowed to slacken. Only the last member of the team is allowed to wind the rope around their body.
In Spanish this is called sogatira and in French tir à la corde.